Selvedge vs Archetype - What’s the Difference?

December 18, 2020 2 min read

Selvedge vs Archetype - What’s the Difference?

Selvedge or “self-edge” denim gets its name from the tightly woven edge created by vintage shuttle looms as the denim itself is produced. Selvedge jeans are normally heavier than average and the selvedge stripe is a sign of the denim’s high quality. The heavy weight helps these jeans last a long time. This denim is rare and known for its unique vintage look. It requires more denim to produce jeans from narrow-roll selvedge and for these reasons Selvedge jeans usually command a higher price. 

The Archetype Riding Jeans are not Selvedge, but they are still 14 oz premium, raw denim, and therefore still provide the great quality that is raw denim. Many selvedge denim mills also create heavy wide goods and we use this denim for our archetypes. The weight makes thum rustic and durable and just like raw selvedge they will break in beautifully.

Ok, two jeans, the same fit, both high quality raw denim, so… what’s the difference?

Our selvedge denim is our oldest style. It is made for and by denim heads. If you have to have that selvedge stripe on your cuff to go with your heritage Red Wings and a custom built bike, I highly recommend selvedge. Oh, yeah they also sport a button fly for guys who don’t like metal teeth down south.

The Archetype has a cleanly finished extra durable caballo-seam construction on the inseams and outseams. This construction is actually stronger than the seams used in the Selvedge jeans, and typically used in workwear to prevent seams from splitting.The zipper fly is a convenient touch and if you don’t do buttons, the Archetypes are for you.

Both these jeans have become very popular, and both have our comfortable mesh and Kevlar protective liners. They are almost interchangeable, but at Tobacco we are all about the details and these subtle differences mean you can have your Tobaccos the way you want them, no compromises.

Here is what they look like new and how they look broken-in. 


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